For the 28th straight year, the T.R. Miller Tiger football team will be making their appearance in the state playoffs.
The T.R. Miller Tigers, who last failed to make the playoffs in 1983, will take on the Greensboro Raiders Friday at home in Brewton.
T.R. Miller comes into the game Friday with an 8-2 record after knocking off rival W.S. Neal in the Battle of Murder Creek 26-14 Friday in East Brewton.
Tiger head coach Jamie Riggs said the game with W.S. Neal was a typical Miller-Neal game.
“This was a particularly a typical Miller-Neal game, especially the games we have played them over in East Brewton,” Riggs said. “Over the past years, it has been a very hard-fought game. The thing about Neal was they are obviously better than their record indicated. They certainly have got better and we knew we were going to be in for a fight. I thought that they did a nice job of not only playing hard, but also having a good plan and using their players. It was a typical Miller-Neal game with both teams playing hard. We were able to finally in the second half get some scores, one in the third and one in the fourth, and then held them out. It was a tough game.”
This week, the Tigers will host round one of the AHSAA class 3A playoff against 5-5 Greensboro. Greensboro lost Friday night to Brother Martin in Louisiana 44-0. The Raiders lost their first game before winning their next five games to go 5-1 but have lost their last four games and finished No. 3 in their region.
Greensboro and T.R. Miller have met three times with all three times coming in the playoffs. The last time the two teams played was in the semifinals in 1997 with the Tigers lost 36-28. T.R. Miller won 28-12 in 1996 in the quarterfinals and also won in 1995 in the quarterfinals 37-0.
“Greensboro, right now, is really all about their quarterback—No. 14 Quante Brown,” Riggs said. “He has not played in the last three weeks. They are a throw first offense and without him, they are not the same offense. But it is to my understanding from their folks that he is going to be back this week. That really changes the way they are. They have turned the ball over and had all kinds of difficulties without him in there. He got hurt during the Aliceville game (week eight). Him coming back is what makes their offense go.”
Riggs said, the quarterback in a spread offense like Greensboro is what makes the offense go.
“If you have a quarterback that can run and throw, you have something there,” Riggs said. “That is what they have in him. He makes it difficult. He also does the kicking for them and other things like that so when they lost him, they really lost a chunk of that. They have had some other injuries and the coach told me on Saturday, they will have four of their guys back who have not played for them lately. They will be a little bit of a different football team than they have in recent weeks. Some of those are on the offensive line. Some of the greatest strengths they have is they have some excellent receivers. But over the last few weeks, they have not been able to get the ball to them. They are a pass first offense and will throw the ball two-thirds of the time. So obviously, that will be a challenge for us to handle their quarterback and keep the big plays down because they have been big-playing a lot of people.”
Riggs always has said he wants his Tiger teams to be good in late October against Neal heading into the playoffs. He thinks the 2011 team is currently doing that.
“We have won our last five games and of the last five games, four of them have been close contests,” Riggs said. “We are used to playing close contests and that is what you will have to do in the playoffs so I think that is a positive. The playoffs, more than anything else, is about the attitude you take with you into it. You have to be willing to prepare and play every week. The teams that are the best at that are going to be good.” Riggs said after this week, everyone that is left is a pretty good football team and everyone that is left is capable of beating anyone else.
“I really think it is about the attitude you take in with you,” Riggs said. “You have to be willing to do the work and get yourself mentally prepared and ready to play. You have to play in all kinds of weather from hot, to cold, to windy. Then you have to play on the road and endure the long trips and play when you are behind. Sooner or later, everyone is going to be behind at some point and time. So, if you can not let those things bother you, you have a greater chance of winning this week and surviving the next week.”
Riggs said even though his team is banged up some right now, like everyone else, you can’t make excuses.
“You just have to line up and play,” Riggs said. “As soon as you find a way to win this week, you have to survive the next week. You don’t worry about next week until you win this week. There is no tomorrow. It does not take long that if you are fumbling the ball around, you will be gone in a hurry.”
Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Brewton Municipal Stadium.